Wall model train collector holds open house to view collection

A Monmouth County man has taken his passion for model trains to a whole new level, and he wants to share it with the public.

"It started at my first Christmas. I was 8 months old and received my first Lionel train set…Christmas morning,” says Salvatore Soldano.

Soldano’s passion for trains continued into his adulthood and he amassed a meticulous collection of model trains. He has now opened his collection to the public last weekend after his set was featured in a popular collector's magazine.

“We are making a whole bunch of kids happy,” he says. “When the typical kids come in, they love it. The special-needs kids have buttons to press around the layout to make things happen."

Soldano says that children with special needs often make an instant connection with the trains when they make things happen on the set.